Chelsea were eliminated from the Champions League following a 4-0 aggregate loss to holders Real Madrid in the quarter-finals; Frank Lampard was disappointed that Eder Militao was not awarded a second yellow card and pledged that “Chelsea will be back” despite a disastrous season.
Despite the fact that Chelsea’s season ended with a whimper against Real Madrid in the Champions League, Frank Lampard pledged, “Chelsea will be back.”
Chelsea left the championship with a humiliating 4-0 aggregate loss against the holders, after a Rodrygo double consigned them to a 2-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues, who are now 11th in the Premier League table and 17 points short of a place in the Champions League with only seven games remaining, now face a season outside of Europe’s biggest tournament, with nothing to play for in the final weeks of the season.
“People will make a lot of this season because we’ve had so much success, but the fact is: this club will be back,” Lampard stated.
“That will require time and effort. I believe the fans liked today’s performance; there have been moments this season when they haven’t, so we must capitalize on it and produce results until the conclusion of the season.
“Many teams would envy our Premier League and Champions League victories. Maybe this is the year we aren’t where we want to be – it might be due to changes. We didn’t make the Champions League a few years ago, and Chelsea won the Premier League the following year, so we can’t be too optimistic. As a club, there are several areas where we can improve. Tonight’s game demonstrates this, as we performed well yet lost.
“It hasn’t been easy for the new players to adjust to the club. Even when teams are flying, some of the Premier League’s best players require time when they first arrive. They fly when they find their feet. In terms of transitioning, this is true for some of our guys.” The Premier League moves at breakneck speed, and the environment is always shifting. No team has a divine right to be in the top four.
Manchester United and Arsenal, like many other large clubs, have been out of the Champions League at times. It’s meaningless to forecast whether [being out of Europe] will be beneficial or harmful at this stage. Yet we can lay the groundwork for where we want to go. Can I influence it during this time? Hopefully, sure. The greater issue for the club is getting back to where we were. Nonetheless, the obstacles are significant. Everyone is getting better. Everyone is investing.
“In terms of the team, clubs are more stable than we are. So we can’t get ahead of ourselves other than understanding what it takes to go back. I know what it takes to return to the Champions League as a player and coach. We must establish a high bar. I’ll perform my mini-version of that in my next seven games.”
Lampard: Militao should have seen red.
Chelsea caused Real Madrid lots of problems in the opening 60 minutes at Stamford Bridge, but they failed to take their chances, as they have all season, with N’Golo Kante missing their two finest chances.
In 54 minutes, Eder Militao, who was already on a booking, blocked a Trevor Chalobah forward run, but the referee elected not to send him a second yellow card. Lampard was dissatisfied with the decision.
He stated, ” “I won’t tell what I actually think about Militao getting a second yellow card. A yellow card is worth a lot at this level. In the offensive final third, the attacking player goes beyond the center defender, resulting in a yellow card, a red card, and half an hour of here we go. That’s what we had to do [in Real], and they should have had to do it here as well, but it didn’t happen.”
Thiago Silva feels Chelsea’s players must accept responsibility for the club’s disastrous season, rather than blaming it only on managerial changes.
“Everyone speaks too much about replacing managers, but I believe we, the players, must also take responsibility,” he remarked. “We’ve had three managers this season, plus a fourth, Bruno, who was in charge of the team. Bruno failed to win, we lost today, and Lampard also failed to win.
“Everyone is talking about the management, but we need to look at what went wrong and attempt to adjust.”
On his own efforts, the 38-year-old stated: “It’s been a challenging and unpleasant season for me. It may have been my final Champions League match.
“My contract is up in a year, and my career is nearing the end. It’s a sad and depressing day, but I believe we must keep fighting to win as many games as possible until the end of the season.”
